Maddog's Blog

SUCCESS! I am so happy to report that I finished in the top 60 of 240 girls at Stage I of Q-school this past week, thereby punching my ticket on to Stage II! This week was a huge leap in the right direction for me. I am now one step closer to realizing my dream of playing on the LPGA Tour.

I am proud of the way I stayed relaxed and patient during my time in Daytona Beach. It would have been very easy to succumb to the pressure and expectations and let my nerves get the best of me. However, I consistently reminded myself it is just another golf tournament. The goal of this one is no different than the goal of the hundreds of others I have played- get the little white ball in the hole as quickly as possible. I went out and just played by game, and things happened to go my way.

Because I did end up making the cut on to Stage II, I feel comfortable sharing a little story from my 3rd round. The scoreboard shows I shot a 75 that day... However, I actually only hit the ball 73 times. I received a 2 stroke penalty on the first tee for showing up late to my tee time- basically a cardinal sin in golf. Somehow in the time between arriving at the course and getting to the first tee, I mixed up 8:35 (my actual tee time) and 8:55 (my tee time from the day before). A rules official found me on the putting green after my group teed off and alerted me of my mistake. Luckily, I was able to sprint to the tee before the allotted 5 minute window was up and I would have been DQ'd. This was without a doubt the most idiotic thing I have done on the golf course in a long, long time. And for it to happen at LPGA Q-school... let's just say I didn't see that coming. It took everything I had mentally to put my anger and frustration behind me and focus on playing a solid round of golf that day. I will certainly learn from the experience and NEVER let it happen again.

Other than that hiccup, my week was great. The weather was perfect, I got to split my time between two wonderful host families (Richard and Deanna Frank and Ty and Chrissie Capps), and I was joined by my caddy Taylor Ford (who also helped me to my sweet 16 finish at the US Am last month). Anytime I get to focus on nothing but golf for 8 days at a time, I am going to be a happy girl.

Now begins the preparation for Stage II. Stage II will be played October 9-12 in Venice, FL. There are 215 players, and the top 70 will move on to Stage III. There is no 36 hole cut here. Let the practice begin!

Good concentration in Florida and congratulations. I love the official who found you practicing - that (wo)man deserves our thanks. Work on that philosophy and we will be eagerly awaiting stage 2 in October.